IF YOU'RE GOING...

Classic Victorians and saltbox houses snuggle up in this bluff-top village west of Highway 1. Home to one-of-a-kind shops and cozy restaurants, it’s a perfect jumping-off point for the region’s rugged coast. Area code is 707.

On the town’s main drag, GoodLife Cafe & Bakery serves as a social hub. Gab with locals over cups of strong coffee from the North Coast’s Thanksgiving Coffee Company and choose from a varied array of breakfast pastries including the savory, spiraling kale Parmesan bun. 10483 Lansing St., 937-0836, goodlifecafemendo.com.

Just south of town, Catch a Canoe & Bicycles, Too! rents small boats to paddlers looking to ply the teal and ultramarine waters of Big River. Its marshy banks are dotted with moss-draped evergreens, great blue herons, and the occasional sunbathing seal. 44850 Comptche-Ukiah Rd., 937-0273, catchacanoe.com.

The FordHouse Museum and Visitor Center, atrim white building, provides a concise and compelling glimpse into history. Springboards that ax men stood on while felling redwoods, figure among the artifacts and photos that illuminate the area’s timber boom, Gold Rush days, and maritime trade. 45035 Main St., 937-5397, mendoparks.org.

Family-friendly dining draws crowds to Frankie’s Pizza and Ice Cream, but the real star is candy-cap mushroom ice cream, made with dried and powdered, locally foraged fungi that have a maple-syrup sweetness. Other flavors include a decadent blackberry chocolate chunk and zingy ginger. 44951 Ukiah St., 947-2436, frankiesmendocino.com.

Walkers on the cliff-top trail in Mendocino Headlands State Park next to town can easily spend an entire afternoon gawking at bobbing kelp, hulking sea arches, frothy blowholes, and berms of massive driftwood trunks. 937-5804, www.parks.ca.gov.